Tanker Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Tossed in my usual snack of a strip of zucchini tonight, and they were extra happy to see it, so I snapped a couple of quick shots. Been a 'coon's age since I posted a picture of anything, so I guess I'll see if I can even remember how to Just dropped it in, little clamp on one end to weigh it down. They go nuts. Note the Alpha male in his 'cave', to the right. After 4 minutes, they are still rasping away at it, and it's losing the battle, quickly. Alpha has emerged and is watching... he takes the occasional chomp and settles back to digest. These guys are fed 99% NLS, and 1% raw or frozen zucchini. About once a week a strip is tossed in and it won't last an hour; skin and all - gone. Every fish in the tank gets in on the action and it's VERY cost effective... about $1 will last 6-8 weeks depending how you slice it. The only reason I add the zucchini to the NLS diet is due to in nature these fish have a higher plant matter diet due to their algae eating so I like to think this mimics that a little. The oldest fish in here are F1, with all others descendants of them. I have close to 30 in the tank, which is a 65 gallon (36x18x24 high). As well three BN share the space with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingin' It Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Very Cool to see! Great idea to save $$$ too! Very Nice fish indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oneiroid Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Nice shots! The alpha male in the second pic (bottom right, I think?) looks stunning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EowynJane Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 What kind of clamp did you use to weigh it down? I fed cooked pieces to my yellow labs once, the zucc disappeared but I didn't see them eat it so I can only assume they did. I'm getting my acei soon so I'll be sure to try this with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 It's always cool to feed your fish veggies and watch them devour them. I feed my schoal of silver dollars all sorts of veggies, and it's crazy how fast they'll eat just about anything green. Great looking acei too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garreTT Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 Do you prepare it at all Tanker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanker Posted June 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 I bought a package of plastic 'clamps' from the dollar store... they are only about an inch and a half long, and weigh almost nothing, but they are just enough to take the buoyancy out of the zucchini. I have tried metal skewers, nails, rubber bands and rocks... this just 'works'. The metal spring inside the clamp eventually rusts and the tension is lost, but it's only after 6-8 months of use. I bought a package of 6 and am on clamp number 3... in two years. Not bad for a buck. As for prep... slice the ends off the veg, slice it lengthwise a few times, wrap in cling wrap and freeze up to a month. I find that after a month, they tend to start freezer burning, no matter if they are cling wrapped, ziplocked, or stored in plastic containers. The cling wrap is the simplest, and each strip can be individually frozen so you're not trying to peel them apart, later. Clamp holding frozen zucchini strip, ready to go in the tank My other fun veg treat is a little more labour intensive, but worth it. Take a small plate or saucer, and a dozen or two frozen peas. Peas on the plate in a single layer, and just a little water - not enough to cover the peas. Then microwave it for about one second per pea (so 20 peas is 20 seconds). This gets them just barely warm - they still have nice firm insides, but the pea 'skin' is softened up. Now this is the tough part... squeeze the pea gently in your fingers, so it splits out of the skin, and you only have the two halves of the very inside of the pea. I have never yet had a fish that would eat the skin of a pea... but I have not had one yet that wouldn't fight to the death for a half or more of the inside. This takes about 90 seconds to do and is absolutely amazing... peas are a natural laxative for the fish... so ALWAYS do this the day before a water change... and not the day after. Otherwise it'll look like the fish bought a case of green silly-string and had a party in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EowynJane Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 Thanks for the tip, I will pick up some of those clips. I have always blanched and frozen pieces of zucchini in the past, I freeze them in long sections frozen in cling wrap so they are easy to break off. I was told veggies had to be blanched or softened slightly but you mentioned you feed yours raw, I'll have to try that. I've fed peas to Betta's in the past, I used to cut up the insides into bite sized pieces for them, they just loved them. Have you ever tried green beans? I've fed them to BN Pleco's before but never to Cichlids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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